Spreaders are arms connected to a sailboat mast at one end and used to guide, redirect and/or terminate standing rigging for the mast at the other end. By "standing rigging" is meant the fixed shrouds, strays and the like which hold the mast up and help control its bend side to side, and fore and aft.
Previously, tips were mounted within holes cut near an outboard end of spreaders. These tips were typically machined from solid bars of a noncorrosive metal such as aluminum. Machined tips were generally overbuilt, and thus heavy and expensive. More recently, extruded spreaders have been introduced and cast tips have been provided for mounting within the hollow outboard ends of the spreaders. The cast tips are generally lighter and less expensive than machined tips. Most recently, extruded spreaders have been provided shaped as aerodynamic foils to reduce wind drag.
A disadvantage of foil spreaders is that different tips are needed for mounting within the ends of the port and starboard spreaders due to their air foil shape and consequent shape of their hollow ends (see prior art FIG. 5). Thus, the manufacturing costs are doubled, as are inventory costs for retailers, and replacement costs for users. These disadvantages are exacerbated by the fact that a sailboat mast typically includes two, three, four, or more pairs of spreaders, each pair of which may be a different size and thus require a different tip.
What is desired therefore, is a spreader tip mountable within either the port or starboard side spreaders of a sailboat. A spreader tip adaptable to different size spreaders is also desired.